


The Boy of the Sunflower Field

by Lyli



Category: One Piece
Genre: 10 days of LawLu, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, But mostly fluff, Day 1, Day 2, Day 7, M/M, and! a totalitarian regime, dystopia with giant sunflower fields
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-11-05 23:33:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11023899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyli/pseuds/Lyli
Summary: Law escapes from prison and gets lost in a gigantic sunflower field. There, when all hope seems lost, the sunflower angel saves him. Or rather, a young man to whom he gets attracted almost instantly.





	1. Sunflowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For 10 days of Lawlu 2017! Day one: S is for...well sunflowers. Can you believe that the dressrosa arc was so long that Luffy's stupid outfit inspired me a whole fanfic??? anyways might be some mistakes since english is not my first language and i am sorry if it's the case.  
> It's a chaptered work and the other chapters will also fit a prompt for the 10 days of lawlu event. Hope you enjoy it!

Law wakes up that day with an atrocious backache which he assumes is due to having slept on the ground the night before. He turns his head left and right, cracking his neck and trying to get familiar with his surroundings.

He remembers running like there was no tomorrow, to escape, to hide.

He remembers finding this place in the dead of the night, stumbling to find his way through gigantic sunflowers as tall as him. Then he ran and ran again and didn’t see the end of it. After a while he fell down from exhaustion and eventually fell asleep.

 

Law was now in the middle of nowhere, still surrounded by what looked like an infinity of flowers blocking his view. He didn’t know where to go nor how to get out and suddenly he thought that he was probably going to die there from dehydration, hunger, tiredness.

Shocked by his own pessimism he stood up abruptly and parted the flowers right in front of him to start moving. He tried to convince himself that if he walked in a straight line he would eventually find an exit. However, as soon as he set his weight on his left foot a sharp pain prevented him from advancing. He sat, exulting a shaky breath and looked at his bare foot and pitiful sprained ankle. Then again, there was nothing he could do in a place like that. Even if he ripped off his dirty orange rags he would probably not be able to make a decent bandage in his current condition.

“Shit. Shit!”

He hit the ground with his fists like a kid throwing a tantrum and it raised a cloud of dust and dirt. He tried to make the bandage anyway. He ripped a part off the leg of his suit and wrapped it around his ankle anyway. Better than nothing.

He decided to stand again. He limped his way through the tall stems, feeling confident for a few minutes before understanding it was vain. Guilt, regret and many other feelings overwhelmed him. Getting lost in such a place, he brought it upon himself. Dying there was his fault. He kept limping and started yelling desperately to whoever would hear, friend or foe, to help him. Little by little his plea became unintelligible yelling, as though he was losing his mind.

He kept advancing, eyes closed, trying to ignore the pain until he bumped into something hard that pushed him back and he fell on his ass. He stopped screaming and opened his eyes.

Someone was standing there, one arm wrapped around three freshly cut flowers and the other hand on his hip to show perplexity.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you a madman?” he asked with a high pitched voice and a mocking tone.

Law brought his hand above his forehead as a visor to see better what he assumed to be a very young man.

The bright sky light filtering through the flowers lit him in a strange way and made him stand out. He was wearing a black shirt with a sunflower pattern that made the whole thing seem slightly surreal. It looked like Law had found his saviour. An angel, for sure. The sunflower angel.

He kept staring without answering the stranger’s question and the other grew excessively impatient.

“Oi, buddy? You’ve seen a ghost?”

“No, an angel.”

“What? Where?”

The boy turned around and looked back at Law with a suspicious glance.

“Erm, actually, can you help me get out of here? You see I ran there at night and got lost, and now I’m injured.” He explained and pointed to his ankle.

The stranger looked like he suddenly noticed the orange jail uniform that Law was wearing and avoided his eyes. It occurred to Law that it was a reaction to expect in this situation and that most people wouldn’t bother helping or worse, calling the authorities as soon as possible. His heart and hope both sank down his feet as he wondered if he should have striped beforehand or if it was just as suspicious.

The angel then reached his hand out to Law to help him stand up. Law took it, incredulous.

“I’ll help you!” He claimed and showed a bright toothy smile.

“Thank…Thank you.”

Law was so busy celebrating internally that his mouth couldn’t even articulate proper thanks.

“You’re a lucky guy that I found you!”

The boy threw Law’s arm above his shoulder and supported him on the side of his bad foot. He smiled mysteriously.

“You know, even if you weren’t injured, I don’t think you would have been able to find a way out.”

The statement sent chills down Law’s spine and he could not even find anything to answer.

“Damn you’re too tall.” The boy added right after, starting to advance between sunflowers confidently as if there was a written path on the ground.

Walking like that was indeed quite fastidious but it was still way better than blindly limping on his own in this labyrinth.

“I need one more.” He declared after walking for at least fifteen minutes.

“One more what?” Law asked, still holding onto his shoulder.

“Flower. I needed to cut four flowers today. I only have three.” He specified uselessly.

“Oh then... I guess you can cut this one. Or this one. Or anyone really. This place is full of these fucking flowers.” Law remarked, sounding like he held a grudge against these poor sunflowers which had done nothing to him apart from standing there.

The other shook his head and held the three flowers close to him.

“No…No I need to find the right one.” He said after a while of carefully thinking his words.

“Well. Alright.”

Law knew it was not really his place to complain about anything. They began searching for this damn perfect sunflower in the field. It was taking forever, Law was tired and he wondered if they were getting closer to getting out or running in circles.

When the sunflower expert finally found what he was looking for, he practically threw Law on the ground to get his penknife and cut a 50 centimetres stem under the flower.

“Now we can go!”

“A-alright.” Law stuttered as he grabbed the other’s reached out hand for the second time this day.

Hopefully they weren’t far away from the exit and soon enough Law was able to see the horizon between the plain and the sky, with no damn sunflower in the way. He emitted a long sigh of relief as they stopped at the side of a country road.

“Finally. Thanks a lot…sunflower kid.” He said upon realising that he didn’t even know his saviour’s name.

“I’m not sunflower kid.”

Law could see him furrow his eyebrows in the shadow of his hat in a very childish way.

“Then, straw hat kid?” Law tried with a mischievous smirk

“That’s much better! But I’m not a kid you know. I’m eighteen.” Straw hat said, readjusting his hat as to check it was still attached to his head. “My name’s actually Monkey D. Luffy! What’s yours?”

“I’m Traflagar D. Water Law.” He said.

The sound of his own name rang weirdly to his hears. He wondered if it was a smart idea to give out his real name.

“Tra- Toraf- ….Torao.” Luffy stuttered and laughed to himself at the newly found nickname.

Usually he hated nicknames but Law knew he wouldn’t grow tired of this one.

“Right Torao,” Luffy began, suddenly more serious. “what were you doing, lost in there?”

Yeah, of course. Law was still barefoot and wearing his very flashy orange tracksuit, it didn’t disappear when he exchanged names with the other, unfortunately.

“It’s…sort of obvious, isn’t it?” he said, looking down at himself, pointing to his outfit with his chin.

“You’re an escapee?”

“I ran away yesterday and ran all the way here. Now I’m probably being chased after.”

“Oh…”

Law sighed and applied pressure with two fingers in the middle of his own forehead as if he was concentrating all his strength right there to generate a solution.

“Listen…” he began. “It’s too late to regret saving me now. So I’m just gonna walk my way down this path as you go back to your village and- “

“I don’t regret saving you at all! But if you’re being chased after you definitely shouldn’t go down this road in your state. You’ll be caught in no time.”

For sure guards were waiting for him along the way, and he was actually surprised that helicopters weren’t already flying all around the area. He looked up to the blue sky as he thought this. Only a few puffy white clouds were tainting it.  Law had to be considerate for his saviour, knowing that if the authorities were to find out that he had helped him, he would be arrested too. He didn’t want to put the younger in danger.

“Don’t worry about me, we’ll be safe in town!” Luffy retorted, grabbing Law’s arm and pulling him on the path supposedly leading to the town.

“How can you be so sure?” Law grumbled but he followed Luffy anyway.

“There’s been an agreement with the authorities a long time ago so the police will leave this place more or less alone. At least long enough for you to recover.” Luffy explained, working his way through the difficult path.

Law stared confusedly at the younger’s back. He did not understand what the other meant by “agreement” or how that was even possible but it was not the time to discuss it. He was stopped in his tracks by his ankle pain.

“Hey!” Law called. “Could you not go so fast without me? I can’t really walk by myself, remember?”

Luffy turned around with a bright smile and started laughing with a very singular “shishishi” sound.

“Sorry, Torao.”

He went back to support the other on his shoulder. In all honesty, Law could not get angry at him in any way.

 

Law could see the village but Luffy took a turn before reaching it, explaining that he lived at the limit between the town and the plain. There was indeed a huge house at the extremity of the smaller path they had just taken. Sunflowers were all over its façade. They were used as a decoration pattern over the windows, on the door, on the doormat in front of it. Even the house itself reminded vaguely of a sunflower with its round and yellow roof.

On each side of the entry were disposed two gigantic jars, each holding a dozen of cut sunflowers on various stages of decay. Luffy put a sunflower in each. Law stared in astonishment.

“Dadan! You here?!” Luffy yelled instead of knocking on the door, pulling Law back to reality.

The door opened. A big woman with curly orange hair appeared, hands on her sides emphasizing her severe look.

“Luffy, you took longer than usu- Who’s that?” she asked, scanning Law with a hostile glance.

“That’s Torao. He was lost on the sunflower field so I helped him out. He’s a nice guy, really.”

“Really…?”

“He is injured so I thought we could let him heal and rest before he leaves.”

She did not look so convinced. Law held out his hand, mumbling a small “hi” and she held it reluctantly. There was no way she would accept him in his house, looking like he did. Luffy was just a completely careless boy, he didn’t even ask him anything about his past or what he did to end up in jail. He just joyfully helped him. While picking sunflowers. What the hell.

To his utmost surprise, she stepped aside and let the both of them in. “Alright. Go sit in the leaving room, I have a few questions to ask you.”

“Thank you very m-“

“You must be really stupid if you thought you could escape through the sunflower field.” She laughed, coughing as she did so.

Well.

Law entered the house. The inside was just as heavily decorated as the façade by omnipresent sunflowers. He knew he had to get used to it but the incessant reminiscence of his panic attack from a few hours before when he was lost in the field made it difficult for him to find it comfortable.

Law immediately asked if they had strapping so he could finally take care of his ankle properly. Luffy led him to a small room next to the staircase where they kept all the medicine and basic health supplies. It smelled musty in there.

Law unwound the rags from his suit that he had wrapped messily around his ankle, it was swollen but it did not get any worse.

After finding what he needed in the cardboard box laying on the floor, Luffy backed up against the wall holding his hands behind his back in an endearing fashion, and watched Law applying cream and strapping his ankle like a professional.

 

When they went back to the living room, Law sat on an armchair – the one without sunflowers – exhausted. Luffy sat across him after putting the two remaining sunflowers in jars decorating the room. Strange ritual.

Dadan entered the room right after, carrying a plate on her palm on which was what looked like a tea set with three cups.

“So, you’re ‘Torao’?” Dadan queried, her voice hoarse as she made an effort to sit on the couch.

“Actually my name is Traflagar Law.” Law answered, hoping that cutting his name would make it easier for them to remember.

“Okay…Torao.” She cleared her voice and carefully poured tea in each cup.

It didn’t look like tea. It looked like soup. Yellow soup. Law hoped to god it was not sunflower.

“How long have you been incarcerated, young man?”

“About seven years.”

Luffy was staring intently. She just nodded.

“And why did you chose to escape only now?”

“I was initially supposed to stay in for a much shorter time. Three years to the most. Anyways, my sentence was extended.”

He picked the cup remaining on the plate and stared at it in order to avoid the questioning looks across him. After a few seconds of hesitating he took a sip, holding his breath.

“I was an intern, aiming to become a surgeon. Along with a few other doctors, I illegally distributed drugs and medicine despite the rationing. We all went to jail.” He pursued. “But later they found out that my parents had helped freeing quarantined patients contaminated by an unknown virus. My parents were doctors too, and they were convinced it was not contagious. But the government did not want to take any risk and they killed everyone.”

“Oh, I remember that, they said on TV that it was not actually a contagious virus and that everything was back to normal.”

“Well they indeed found out that their illness was due to something in the water and these people could all have been cured. That’s why it was never said that they killed them and anyone who knew about the massacre was chased and put in jail. Just as I was. About twelve years later.”

Law was bitterly reminded about his childhood as he told the story. He tried not to think about it for too long. The yellow of the wall calmed him.

 “Those damn pigs…They disgust me so much.” Luffy grumbled. He was boiling, even. Dadan ignored him.

“So you were transferred to this new jail, right? Only innocents are thrown in there. That’s why we save those who are lucky enough to reach the field and get lost in it.”

Law nodded. Truthfully, all the inmates had that lost look on their faces, as if they didn’t know how they ended up in there. Moreover, there was way less of the ordinary violence he witnessed in his previous prison. Law had never been sure why, but it made sense, since they all were dirty secrets the government wanted to hide. He was surprised that Dadan knew so much but he understood better why Luffy and she would help an escapee and not wary of him at all.

He finished his story by telling them that his friends from the hospital with whom he was condemned first were the ones to help him out by bribing a guard. It made the both of them laugh and compliment him about his friends.

There were no more questions after that. Dadan prepared dinner and they ate all together like a strange family. Later on, Luffy showed Law his room.

“No, I can’t sleep on your bed…I’ll take the couch…” Law said, suddenly realising how hospitable it was.

“What? It’s okay, though. I won’t let an injured man sleep on this old couch, I’ll take it!”

He was directly looking at him with his smile not leaving his face. Law thought it was incredibly charming. Actually it might have been the first beautiful thing he had seen in years, after freeing himself from jail. It may even be the most beautiful thing since then. Neither the large plain they had crossed, nor the infinite blue sky extending above their head, nor the first village since his escape…and definitely not the sunflower field…no. Nothing could top that smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too long. Way too long. Everyone does cute drabbles and beautiful art and i post this abomination. Hopefully the next chapters will be shorter.  
> Oh and don't you think "smile" would have also fitted the chapter as a prompt? I didn't even notice while writing. It's a hidden prompt hahaha


	2. Torao

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Law is enjoying his new life with Luffy and Dadan as “Torao”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. I've been less original with this prompt and I've tried to exploit the nickname dynamic the best I could while trying to portray how Law had already fallen for his saviour. Hope you enjoy it

“Torao! Oi, Torao!”

_Torao? What’s that? …Oh yeah, that’s me._

Luffy’s face appeared above Law. He had his usual straw hat planted on his head.

_That’s how the straw hat kid…that’s how Luffy calls me._

Law began to think that he was actually right about Luffy being an angel. There were two huge white wings behind his back and his round hat looked like a halo above his head.

Luffy began slowly taking off his already unbuttoned shirt. He then extended his hands towards Law and grabbed his jaw delicately.

“To-ra-o~”

Law felt a shiver travelling from the other’s fingertips down his spine.

_What the… What the hell? What are you…?_

Luffy’s face was now so close that Law could feel his breath on his nose. He shifted a little as Luffy ran his fingers down his neck and his torso. Law realised that he was completely naked.

_Hey!? What’s going on!?_

No sound came out of his mouth. He couldn’t protest as Luffy’s fingers travelled lower on his body, as he felt blood rushing-

“TORAO!!”

He opened his eyes.

“Ah, finally you wake up. I thought you were dead.”

It was all a dream. Or mostly a dream. Because Luffy was indeed straddling him, head a few inches away from his. At least he had a blanket over him.

“Can you say ‘Torao’ again?” He demanded.

It was the first thing to come out of his mouth. His head was still lost in the dream. Luffy stared confusedly.

“H-hum…” He then mumbled to correct himself. “Don’t you know anything about personal space?”

He gently pushed Luffy away from his crotch with all the self-control he could manage and straightened up.

“It’s because you weren’t waking up.” Luffy justified, sitting on the edge of his bed. “Breakfast is ready.”

Law put on his orange jumpsuit because he had nothing else to wear and joined Luffy and Dadan for breakfast. Luffy ate a lot. Law had already noticed it at dinner the day before: it seemed like his stomach was a bottomless pit. He would never be able to eat this much first thing in the morning. How come he was so lanky? Law ate in silence, wondering about all of this and stealing glances at his younger host.

 

If he had to be honest, yes, he was pent up. Was he pent up enough to jump on the “most beautiful thing” he had seen in seven years? Maybe, considering that had a dream about it. Back when he was in jail, there weren’t many ways of relief apart from fantasizing. Never once did he had dreamt about another inmate but his dreams were always pretty wild nonetheless. A woman with two pairs of breasts even appeared once. However she did not call him “Torao”.

He decided to take a shower to clean up his body and thoughts.

“There must be disposable razors in one of the drawers, you can use it if you want.” Luffy indicated after showing him the way to the bathroom.

“Uh, thanks.”

Law wondered why Luffy had told him that until he saw himself in the small mirror above the sink. He couldn’t possibly recognize his own reflection. Raven hair and grey eyes were still there but a messy beard had invaded half of his face. He had not even noticed it. He touched it to make sure it was real and processed to take a shower and follow Luffy’s implicit advice, leaving only a little of facial hair on his chin. It wasn’t a work of art but at least he looked like himself.

“Law, are you finished?” Luffy asked behind the bathroom door.

Law grabbed a towel in one of the drawers and tied it around his hips.

“Yeah?”

Luffy entered the room with a pile of clothes under the arm.

“Since you don’t have clothes I brought some old stuff I found in the wardrobe, way too big for me I think they will fit…” Luffy was unfolding shirts one by one and showing them to Law as he talked. He paused for a second when he lifted his eyes. “…you.”

Law couldn’t help but smirk. « Me? »

“I…I think they will fit you!” Luffy repeated shoving all the clothes in Law’s arms.

“Thank you. What’s wrong?”

Law wanted to tease Luffy. Just a little. Because the younger male looked like he could stay unbothered by anything, Law wanted to make sure it was just an appearance.

“I just thought that you it’s really different…But you look great!” Luffy asserted with his signature smile.

He did not react exactly like Law had expected. Still, he was extremely pleased to see Luffy phased by his sharp features and bare torso for a second, it proved him that he was not so out of shape. Hearing that he “looks great” was enough to make his day.

“Oh by the way, Dadan wants to see you.” Luffy concluded with a smile softer than usual.

 

“You’ll help Luffy in the vegetable garden” Dadan stated. “There are plants to water, weeds to remove…Since you can’t pay a rent, you can at least contribute.”

Law knew that he would have to repay them in one way or another but he never thought he would be assigned to gardening duties.

“Hey, Torao!”

He saw that Luffy was already in the garden and it immediately made the task sound a lot more attractive.

“We need to remove the weeds that are invading the cabbages, you need to so like this, but don’t overdo it since you’re injured.” Luffy explained while showing how to use the spade.

He was wearing his usual straw hat and a red tank top. Law could see his skinny arms contract every time he showed the movement.

“Got it?” Luffy asked then.

“Uh no…” Law admitted. “Can you show it again?”

He knew he had to stop. But could he really? He felt like every little thing that the other did was a whole new world to him.

 

He quickly learnt how to work in the garden in about a week. His ankle had not recovered completely but he could at least walk normally. Luffy brought him downtown in order to sell vegetables, buy necessities or simply have fun with the villagers. Law was surprised to see how fast they all accepted him. They acted as if they had always known him.

“Luffy’s friend is our friend” they said.

Law learnt that Luffy was loved by most of the villagers. Like everyone else, he was also irremediably attracted to him.

Three weeks in, and they both learnt to know each other while (it was their unspoken rule) avoiding serious topics. Thus, Law learnt that Luffy actually disliked vegetables and preferred meat he bought in town. He would also fight against bigger guys in town just for fun and wake up in the middle of the night to take a walk in the plain. Law told him about his hate of bread and the origins of his tattoos.

This was enough time to fix some semblance of routine. It included Luffy waking him up every morning by jumping on him. Law was used to it now, he was not getting as flustered as the first time. But they unconsciously got closer every time it happened, transforming a simple morning hello into a tickle fight. And, as their faces brushed against each other, as Luffy kissed him first, it felt like they were floating on a cloud.

It was the same for the water hose fights they had at the end of the day. It was Law’s mistake the first time when he sprayed Luffy with the water, the other fought back and they ended up soaked. Law hadn’t had this much fun in years. He played like a kid, and loved like one, he felt like he was reliving the childhood that he had been denied. It was actually as if he was reliving it as another person, as **_“Torao”_**. The fact that Luffy always used his nickname, that they grew so close and that his world basically revolved around this daily life free of any concern made it so he was becoming a new person. Dadan saw it, and probably understood their particular relationship. She still advised Law to leave as soon as he could. Luffy protested.

As Luffy hugged him to prove his point, their damp clothes all stuck together, Law wondered deep inside how long they still had.

 

“I saw soldier on the hill. You really should leave, Law.” Dadan had stated, all indulgence in her voice gone.

_Law? …Oh yeah, that’s me._

On that day Law and Luffy sat on the bench as they usually did when they took a break. The sky was grey and its shade was becoming darker and darker every instant. They were meditating on her words and gradually realising they had to confront all the matters they wanted to keep buried somewhere else.

“You said that your friends helped you?” Luffy asked and Law nodded. “Where are they, now?”

Law let his eyes drop down as he suddenly felt nostalgic. “I don’t know their exact whereabouts but they left the country as soon as they could, hoping they would find a place where they can use their knowledge to save people without being interfered by any kind of rationing or stupid shit like that.”

“Must not have been an easy task…leaving this place.”

“Probably not. Since it took them four years to be able to come back and get me out.” Law joked. “No, seriously. I’m thankful. Now they are waiting for me to leave too and join them, they have a place for me there. I’m just not sure how I’ll manage that since I have nothing left.”

“You’re gonna leave, Torao?” Luffy asked in a small voice.

Law was a little taken aback by this sudden change of tone. “I…uh…yeah…I mean of course. I was not planning on staying here forever. Moreover, I will eventually be found out so…” he stuttered.

“I wanna see the world. I’ve never left the village.” Luffy interrupted, looking down at his feet.

Law’s eyes widened. He couldn’t possibly imagine that someone like Luffy had never seen something further than the sunflower field.

“It’s part of the “agreement” I’ve told you about before. The sunflower field used to be the property of Dadan and her husband. These sunflowers are mutant. They grow very fast and everywhere, anytime. The oil was used as a power source for the village but the authorities started to see it as a threat. He didn’t comply immediately so he was killed. At least that’s what Dadan said. He was found in the field one morning. Then she was pressured to sell out the field because they realised how valuable these sunflowers actually were. A bit like in your story (Law nodded).

They came to an agreement with Dadan. They used the sunflowers to power the whole region but they still let her “own” it. And they said that they would make sure everyone in the village would be safe from any military violence. But in exchange, no one from the village can leave either.”

Law gulped and felt a cold wave on his back. Luffy took a breath and continued his story.

“I and my two brothers were the only people allowed on the field along with Dadan but we couldn’t go any further. We had always been playing in the field as far as I can remember. We knew it by heart. And it knew us too. We could not get lost no matter what. But some untrained soldier did and died.

My brothers never accepted the agreement. They didn’t want to stay confined in the village. They had dreams. So did I. We tried to escape through the field and reach another village on the other side so we would be free for good. But they were both caught and killed on the spot. When I heard the gunshots, I ran back as fast as I could. They told us that they died but never brought back the bodies. Dadan made me promise that I would never try to escape.”

Upon hearing the whole story, Law came back to reality. He understood everything. Why everyone was so friendly to him, and why Dadan was treating Luffy like a little kid.

“So that’s why you said we were safe here. But Dadan saw them walking around…” Law wondered.

“With official justifications they can. It’s possible that they finally obtained it.” Luffy admitted. “I’m sorry Torao. I shouldn’t have insisted for you to stay here. It was selfish of me and now you’re in danger…”

“It’s okay. I’ll leave tomorrow anyway. I know here is not my home.” Law declared so unwillingly that he could feel his throat tighten with every word.

But he had to. He had tried to convince himself that everything was okay the way it was but he had lost track of his initial goal entirely. The “Luffy and Torao” paradise had never been anything more than a daydream. He had fallen into another prison. He bit the inside of his cheeks and closed his eyes. He heard Luffy sniffle. He wanted to free Luffy and Dadan, and all the others from this nightmare but he felt completely helpless. He stood up and walked back to the house.

“I want to leave this place too, I want to go on an adventure, I want to make new friends, I want to take risks!!!” Luffy wailed behind him.

Law froze.

“Please, take me with you, Torao.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ouch. Long. And ...angsty for some reason? *bowing emoji* sorry


	3. Elope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe it’s time for Law to leave now. Not without Luffy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Late entry for Day 7, E is for... I like the word "Elope". I doesn't sound real(?). As a foreign speaker I had to check 50 times to make sure it's a real word with this exact meaning. Or maybe that's just my anxiety lol. Hope you enjoy it?

Both Law and Luffy went back in the house and sat at the table in silence, waiting for Dadan’s return as if they were two children waiting for mom. The sunflower shaped clock was ticking without any break, seemingly louder every time it did so until Law broke the silence between them.

“Do you really think following me is a good idea?” He asked calmly, not letting his internal conflict show on his face. He did want to leave before being found. He did not want to leave _Luffy_. But Luffy was still the safest in his village.

“Well, do you think _leaving_ is even a good idea?” Luffy retorted a little harshly.

Law arched an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.

“Interesting. Are you insinuating that you brought me here knowing that I wouldn’t be able to escape anyway?” He didn’t mean to sound that harsh either. He didn’t want to make Luffy feel bad about anything. It was all too wrong.

Luffy shook his head, hands forming into fists on the table. Something was bothering him utterly and Law felt bad about contradicting him so much. “No, that’s not what I mean!”

Law nodded knowingly. He was indeed trying to convince Luffy not to follow him even though all he wanted was the exact opposite. He didn’t want to leave if that meant letting go of all the happiness he had found in Luffy and this “home”.

Law leant over the table to get closer to Luffy. The latter did the same.

“Then if you really are ready, we’ll elope together.” He concluded in a voice devoid of all uncertainty.

Law dared kissing Luffy’s forehead after he said so.

“He’s not going to elope anywhere.” Scolded a voice from the entrance.

Dadan entered the room, hands on her hips. She glanced at Law and he adverted his eyes.

“But I really want to leave this place, though.” Luffy objected confidently.

She scoffed and shook her head. “Right. You are still too young to risk your life like that, Luffy.”

Luffy stared and didn’t respond.

She went back to the kitchen, carrying two big plastic bags. “I bought meat. Tonight, it’s Law’s last dinner with us, so we’ll make a feast.” It sounded like an ultimatum.

Luffy jumped from his chair and threw his arms in the air. “Yippee!”

 

Dadan had not lied about the feast. She had prepared roast beef ribs with vegetables from the garden, enough to feed a regiment. Somehow it still looked like it was not going to be enough for Luffy.

“No need to stare at me like that, Torao. I’m sorry for pressuring you to leave so quickly.” She said.

“Oh no I was not…”

“You don’t have to hide. I know what you’re thinking. You too Luffy.”

Luffy stopped moving completely, all his food stuck in his mouth. Law gestured him to swallow before Dadan continued talking.

“A neighbour country started raising an army. Villagers heard that security at the borders will be reinforced. You’d planned to cross the border right? Don’t involve Luffy in that.”

She talked as if the younger was not even in the room.

“But you know” Luffy began, taking another bite “I think the sunflower field might still extend all the way to the border. Maybe they couldn’t enhance security all the way back there, ‘cause the field is dangerous and they might still be scared of it.”

“Did you simply forget what happens to those who venture too deep into the field? There are guards in there, preventing stupid boys like you from trying to leave the village through the field…and a fortiori crossing the border.”

She emitted a joyless laugh and was caught by a coughing fit. To Law’s surprise and disappointment, Luffy contained his anger. He knew he had his hopes up too fast. The food was good but he could not bring himself to appreciate it.

Usually after eating Law and Luffy would sit around to talk about whatever came to their mind until they called it a night but this time Law went directly to his room in order to distance himself from painful thoughts.

“Don’t you dare ignoring me.” Luffy snapped entering right behind him and closing the door.

“Luffy…I’m not ignoring you, but it’s painful. I don’t want you to be in danger all because of me. Definitely not.”

 “Yeah... I know that… But… you know I wouldn’t be the first villager to leave town!”

Law couldn’t help but smile softly seeing his expression full of determination.

“We know that the authorities started looking for them when they noticed people were missing in the village during the monthly check-up. We don’t know what happened to them since we have not heard about them ever again.” Luffy confessed then, and all his efforts to gather courage and hope seemed to have been whipped out by this last sentence.

He was looking bitter, the memory of his brothers probably still haunting him every time he mentioned escaping. Law didn’t think Luffy was scared. It was a feeling stronger than fear that had been tying him to the village for so long or else a reckless kid like him would have had disappeared years ago. Maybe it was all mixed up with guilt, considering how Dadan had reacted earlier that evening. Law’s medical knowledge was not enough to cure that.

“Well, if I’m as lucky as they are, nobody will hear about me ever again either.” he replied hoping his sarcasm would reduce tensions.

“Don’t say that!”

Luffy slammed his fist onto the wall. Law flinched.

“…Don’t say that.” He repeated, breathing heavily. “I don’t want that.”

He grabbed both Law’s hands. “You said we would elope so let’s do it. I’m ready, I really am.”

“…And Dadan?”

“I will write a letter. I think it would be too hard for her to just let me go. But she will understand. I mean, “elope” means that we don’t necessarily have to tell anyone beforehand, right?”

Law did not expect Luffy to take so many initiatives at once and it made him realise how eager to go the younger was. The word “elope” in Luffy’s mouth rang strangely in Law’s ears. It sounded characteristically childish and showed how much he was yearning for adventure. However to Law, eloping was a way to portray true romance. As embarrassing it was to him, that was what he had intended to convey when he used the word. It did not really mattered anyway. He couldn’t contain his excitement.

 

They waited until Dadan was asleep to grab some food in the kitchen. Law had actually never experienced it but he assumed that was exactly what teenagers did before running away from home. Not that it was a good thing to do, but it certainly was fun. However Law was not convinced it would be of any use considering they were almost exclusively stuffing candy in the tote bag.

Luffy put his handwritten letter to Dadan on the table. Law gave it a look as the other checked that they were ready to leave.

_Hi! It’s Luffy. I’m eloping with Torao. I’m sorry for leaving without discussing that with you first. But goodbyes would have been really hard for the both of us and I didn’t want that so please forgive me, and forgive Torao. If I don’t leave now, I don’t think I would ever do it. I want to prove my brothers and everyone else that there’s hope! There is, really! I’m going to cross the sunflower field with Torao, and reach the border. I know it better than everyone else, I’m practically the king of this field! Even the parts far away where I’ve never been, I know them. So please, don’t worry about me, don’t pick up any flower for me. By the way, I’m sorry about that, but I won’t be able to do that for a while._

_But we will come back and rescue you all so hang in there_

_PS: Hide this letter from grandpa_

Luffy’s handwriting was sort of terrible and there were mistakes everywhere but Law could almost hear Luffy recite it to Dadan right before leaving. He read the third sentence three times and grinned dumbly. It filled him with the indescribable feeling of being invincible.

“You really wrote that!” He joked, pointing to it.

“Shh! Shut up! Put that down, that’s not for you!” Luffy scolded, approaching to take the letter from Law’s hands.

Law extended his arms over his head so Luffy would not be able to reach it.

“Torao, give it back!”

Luffy began climbing on Law as if he was a tree, repeating to give him back the letter, louder and louder. When Luffy’s head was at Law’s level and that he wrapped his arms and legs tightly around the taller male, Law let go of the paper which slowly fell back on the table. He pulled Luffy closer, preventing him from moving.

“Oi!”

“If you don’t quiet it down, Dadan will wake up.” He whispered in Luffy’s ear before kissing it.

The younger stopped moving completely, his cheeks were just as red as the tomatoes they grew in the vegetable garden. Law chuckled and patted his back, letting go as he did so. Luffy slid down slowly on his body until his feet touched the ground.

“L-let’s go now, okay?” Luffy said as he turned his back to Law.

With just that, they left the sunflower house without turning back. They would not have been able to see much in the dead of the night anyway.

When they reached the field, the sun was rising and all the flowers were turning in its direction in a somewhat creepy way. Law was not too fond of coming back there and he still could not help but think that he would have died there if Luffy had not found him that day. But when the other smiled reassuringly, leading him through the tall stems.

 

 

When Dadan woke up, she immediately knew she was the only one left at home. She had somehow been expecting it. She read Luffy’s message and a tear formed at the corner of her eye. Not long after soldiers came knocking at the door; she shoved the paper in her pocket.

“Hey, old man.” She greeted.

“Pff. “Old man”” he mimicked. “You’re just as old as me. Anyways. Are you perhaps hiding a dangerous escapee in your house?”

He entered and searched the house carefully.

“As you can see, no criminal in my house, Garp.”

“Really… I knew it, we’re too late.” He mumbled.

He went back to the living room and let himself fall onto the couch. “Where’s my grandson?” he questioned.

“Do I have to answer you? You’re not here for a check-up today. Luffy’s out, picking sunflowers.”

Garp scoffed and looked around to see the jars in the living rooms. “You’re still doing that…”

“Of course I am.”

“Sir, have you found anything useful?” a soldier suddenly asked from the entrance.

Garp stood up and walked back to him. “He’s not here. He may have taken another road which was not properly covered.”

Both soldiers left and Dadan smirked.

_Don’t turn back, Luffy._

 

 

Law and Luffy walked all day through the field. It was similar to a virgin forest, Law could not see the end of it but the other male seemed to know perfectly where they were going. They stopped a few times to eat and drink so they could keep their fast pace.

_Do you know how long it’ll take us to cross the field? Are you really sure it extends all the way to the border? Will we be any safer when we’re finally out? Can we even get out?_

All these questions hustled in Law’s head as he was sobering down from his enthusiasm towards their “elopement”. He didn’t voice any of them but his sweaty palm was enough for Luffy to turn his face to him and smile, making him feel like everything was okay again. Luffy talked to Law about the “ritual” of picking up flowers. Each flower he picked symbolized someone who had gone missing in the field, both his brothers, Dadan’s husband and his own grandfather who was “dead to her” ever since he had ignored the wrongdoings of his fellow soldiers. Everything made sense as to why Luffy would pick the flowers so carefully. A chill ran down his spine as he imagined how every flower could be the receptacle for a lonely soul.

Suddenly, the younger stopped.

“This is the further I have ever made it in the sunflower field. After that I heard the gunshots and I ran away.” He declared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. So... old people sound like assholes in this story but they all have their reasons, okay? As for Luffy...I could not decide to make him full blushing prude with Law even if they are in love because that's not what he is. But I still wanted some blushing Luffy anyway. Because Law is one sexy mofo with A Big Crush who just wants to live the perfect romance. Even though his crush has no idea.


End file.
